POT BATTLE LOOMING FOR STATE

A headstrong politician and an idealistic billionaire are likely to face off
on the state ballot this fall, but they won't be fighting for elected
office.

Their battle is over marijuana.

Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley and University of Phoenix founder John
Sperling are each working on drug-policy initiatives for the November
general election, but they have very different views on how the state should
treat people caught with pot.

Sperling and his supporters are gathering signatures for an initiative that
would decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Instead of
facing a Class 6 felony, anyone caught with 2 ounces or less of the drug
could be charged only with a civil violation, punishable by no more than
$250. The proposal would also allow marijuana for medical purposes, with the
supplies coming from Department of Public Safety contraband.

Romley, on the other hand, wants to overrule that plan by tweaking one of
the billionaire's initiatives that was already passed into law. Under
Romley's plan, judges could send first- and second-time drug offenders to
jail if they refuse treatment. His proposal was given preliminary approval
by the state Senate on Thursday and will go on the ballot if it passes in a
final vote next week.

If voters pass both proposals, the one with the most votes will become law.

Sperling and two other investors, George Soros and Peter Lewis, have funded
19 initiatives in states across the country, each designed to loosen drug
laws. And the trio has lost only twice.

In 1996, they passed Proposition 200 in Arizona, which says that first- and
second-time drug offenders can't be sent to jail and allows marijuana for
medical use. Two years later, voters approved a similar law after the
Legislature voided most of the original measure.

Romley says he watched Sperling's success with frustration. By law, his
office can't pay for television ads or circulate petitions, so he had little
recourse against his opponent's deep pockets. In 1998, Sperling's group
spent more than $1 million to get the 1996 law reinstated, while Romley says
he spent $35,000 from private donations.

"It's very hard to compete with these very effective ads," Romley said. "It
(my measure) is going to force them to debate this a little more."

Sperling referred questions to Sam Vagenas, spokesman for the People Have
Spoken, the Phoenix-based group that campaigns for Sperling's initiatives.

Romley has long opposed any efforts to reform the way drug offenders are
punished, despite what voters say, Vagenas said.

"This is another assault on the will of the people," he said. "That's what
is at issue here."

Both sides differ not just on marijuana, but on how well Proposition 200 has
worked for drug offenders. They both say they believe in treatment for
first-time offenders, but Romley and some judges say that if people refuse
treatment, they're often let free.

Twenty-one percent of offenders convicted under the law in Maricopa County
never show up for treatment, Romley said. Vagenas cites an Arizona Supreme
Court study last year that says offenders under Proposition 200 are slightly
less likely to drop out of treatment than other probationers.

The battle is likely to heat up if Romley's bill is passed next week.
Vagenas said Sperling and his supporters will campaign aggressively against
the competing measure, while still gathering the 101,762 signatures needed
to get the initiative on the ballot. Romley said he wants to be vocal in the
media and raise private money.

The county attorney is deluded if he doesn't think voters want looser
penalties for having drugs, Vagenas said.

"I believe they believe this," he said. "And if it takes a third time to do
this, so be it."

Romley said he wants Sperling himself to enter the fray.

"I hope I can get John Sperling on one side of the table and me on the other
side, and let's debate what's the right thing to do," he said.